St. Albans School, Cornerstone Garden: Memorial and Columbarium

Washington, District of Columbia

Firm

Richard Burck Associates

Client

St. Albans School

Area

9,500 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$850,000

The Cornerstone Garden is situated on the 59-acre historic grounds of the Washington National Cathedral Close in Washington, D.C., on the campus of St. Albans School, an independent, college-preparatory school for boys in grades 4 to 12.

The design team’s primary objective for the Cornerstone Garden was to create a garden of contemplation and repose that would serve as a memorial for the interment of members of the St. Albans community. The landscape was designed with procession and reflection in mind, gently moving visitors from the sanctuary down a path into the garden. Walking through the garden on the crushed stone pathway, one is drawn past the memorial walls to intimate seating areas for pause.

The power of spiritual place is especially commanding when the garden stair and gate align with a view of the National Cathedral in the near distance.

“The materials used create a sense of space and maintain the historic elements of the site.”–2013 jury